Myanmar’s recently elected President, Min Aung Hlaing, who seized power in the 2021 military coup before being elected earlier this year, wrapped up his first visit to an ASEAN member state, departing Laos on 5 July
The visit produced agreements on tourism cooperation and a sister-city partnership between two capital cities, along with a landmark deal to study a hydropower dam on the Mekong River border between the two countries.
Presidential welcome and official talks
Min Aung Hlaing arrived in Vientiane on 3 July with his wife, Daw Kyu Kyu Hla, and a high-level delegation at the invitation of Lao President Thongloun Sisoulith, to mark the 70th anniversary of Laos-Myanmar diplomatic relations.
A state welcome ceremony followed at the Presidential Palace. Thongloun and Min Aung Hlaing then held official talks covering bilateral cooperation and regional issues, and Thongloun called the visit a milestone in the countries’ seven-decade friendship.
On 4 July, Min Aung Hlaing also met Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone and National Assembly President Xaysomphone Phomvihane, who pledged closer parliamentary cooperation.
Laos was the first ASEAN state Min Aung Hlaing had visited since taking office in April.
Myanmar’s junta chief-turned-president seized power in a February 2021 coup and ruled the country as military chief for five years before assuming the civilian post that month following elections.
During the leader’s latest visit to Laos, the two governments signed an agreement on tourism cooperation and another establishing a sister-city partnership between Vientiane and Naypyidaw.
Myanmar also handed over 640 doses of snake antivenom serum to Laos.
Dam study on Mekong border
The visit’s most significant outcome came on the second day, when officials signed a Joint Development Agreement in Vientiane to study a hydropower dam along the 230-kilometer Laos-Myanmar border stretch of the Mekong.
Lao company Phongsupthavy Group Sole Co Ltd and Myanmar’s Primus Sapphire Power Co Ltd will jointly carry out the feasibility study for the proposed 2,790-megawatt dam, expected to take 34 months to complete.
Details of the project, including its exact location and preliminary engineering specifications, have not yet been disclosed.
Luang Prabang Visit
Min Aung Hlaing laid a wreath at the Unknown Soldier Monument in front of the Lao National Assembly, paid homage at the Thatluang Stupa, met the Chairman of the Myanmar-Laos Friendship Association, and attended a Baci ceremony and state banquet hosted by Thongloun.
On the visit’s final day, Min Aung Hlaing traveled to Luang Prabang, Laos’ UNESCO World Heritage city, and visited temples and other cultural landmarks before departing Luang Prabang International Airport for Myanmar that afternoon, concluding the state visit.
